Martin Endjala
Namibian procurement laws allow the state to use various procurement methods it deems necessary under various conditions, as long as they are soundly justified.
Frederico Links, a researcher for the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), made this statement in response to criticism about the government’s awarding of tenders to August 26.
“In the case of having to complete a job abandoned by a contractor, GRN is well within its rights and within the law to give the job to a state entity to complete,” he explained.
Last week, the Ministry of Health and Social Services announced that it had approached August 26 to complete the construction of the Swakopmund Neonatal Clinic.
The Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN) spokesperson, Johanna Kambala, clarified that they never dealt with August 26 as a public entity, nor were they instructed to do tenders for August 26.
“The only time CPBN dealt with August 26 was when they participated as bidders in CPBN’s procurement process,” she said.
The executive director of the ministry, Ben Nangombe, explained that the decision was taken because the initial contractor failed to complete the work.
“The tender was awarded to the initial contractor, which faced some challenges, and they pleaded with the ministry to be given some time, and with advice from my technical team, we gave them some time and we gave them another chance. But the same thing repeated itself, and time was going. So we had no other choice but to cancel the contract, and we engaged in direct procurement with a state-owned entity, August 26,” explained the ED.
He said this was necessary because procurement would have taken longer.
He also referred to the legal implications that may arise, which may lead to starting over the whole process again.
“The project would have been delayed further. That’s why we decided to do direct procurement in order to bring the project to completion,” he said.
Nangombe said the law does provide for direct procurement from a public entity.
“I am so happy we did this because it has put us in a stage where we now know the project will be completed and provide the much-needed services. This is neonatal care, mind you. We are talking about babies who are born premature and with congenital conditions that need attention, who otherwise have to be transported long distances to Windhoek,” he explained.
Nangombe said the ministry will continue to promote and support SMEs, however, he argued that SMEs must also complete work on time.
“We will not spare the rod. We will not sit back and allow the project to get delayed, and we are going to act resolutely in the interest of the public,” he said.
He further said that the purpose of these actions is to promote public health, emphasising the dire need for these services.
Nangombe stated that if they continued being lenient, they would be defeating their duties. The ED said that when they face non-compliance, they will act in the public’s interest for service delivery.
“If you have non-performance, we are going to act; we are going to do what is right and in the public interest. That is our motivation and the rationale for the action we undertook,” he said.
This week, Namibia Local Black Business (NALOBA) vice president, Peter Amadhila criticised the government for diverting capital projects to August 26 and not to small and medium enterprises.
On August 26, the N$8.3 million construction of the recently inaugurated Onhunno police checkpoint in the Ohangwena region was given the go-ahead.
Another project it got was the completion of the Okahao Veterinary Clinic in the Omusati region, which is still not operational.
Last year, the company won a N$255 million tender to build classrooms and abolition facilities at public schools nationwide.
For years now, there have been calls for August 26 books to be audited and made publicly available but these have not been heeded, with reports suggesting that it may compromise state security.
